PM Modi holds 'wonderful meeting' with visiting Bill Gates, hails his innovative zeal

Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday. After the meeting, PM Modi took to Twitter to share his experience about his meeting with Bill Gates and praised him. The Prime Minister called the meeting "wonderful" and said that it is always a delight to interact with Gates on various subjects. While praising Bill Gates, PM Modi said, "Through his innovative zeal and grassroots level work, he is passionately contributing towards making our planet a better place."

Here is PM Modi's tweet:

In the last decade, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been working in areas of health-care, sanitation, agriculture and financial services for the underprivileged people in India. The foundation's partnerships with Indian manufacturers have led to the development of affordable efficacious vaccines which has enabled different countries to introduce these vaccines, said an official of the foundation.

READ | Bill Gates meets Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna, lauds govt efforts to fight poverty

Gates complimented India on a range of programmes

Greater private sector innovation and use of technology like digital tools would help India provide quality healthcare services at low cost, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said, listing priority areas of his foundation for the country. In an interview to PTI, Gates complimented India on a range of initiatives like digitisation of payments to benefit the poor citizens, sanitation and polio eradication, adding his foundation is in the process of taking some of the successfully implemented ideas in the country to the African continent.

READ | Bill Gates visits PM Modi amid 3-day-review of his foundation's work in India

Gates met Nitish Kumar in Patna

Bill Gates met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday and praised his government for progress in fighting poverty and disease in the last 20 years, saying only a few places have been able to surpass the achievements made by the state. Along with Nitish Kumar, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi was also present at the meeting that took place at the Chief Minister's Secretariat in Patna.

READ | Health Ministry signs MoC with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

READ | Bill Gates praises Bihar govt for efforts to fight poverty, disease